One Year Old

Happy Birthday Callie!

I cannot believe that it was a year ago that we were in the hospital with Callie Grace.  This year has been absolutely wonderful and I could not have imagined anything better.  Callie has blessed our lives in more ways than I can count.  I am so grateful that God gave us such an amazing little girl.  

We had lunch at the Yacht Club with Mama D and PawPaw.  They were so happy that Callie came for her birthday, and they gave her a hat to celebrate.  She wore it the entire time we were there.

Then we had both of the families over for dinner.  Bryan grilled out and we had a great big family dinner.  It was so nice that Callie ate everything that we were having and I didn't have to fix her any other food.  After dinner, Callie opened presents - so many presents!

Gigi and Big Daddy gave us a special memory book with pictures from her first year.  

Mama D and PawPaw got her a table and two chairs for her bedroom.  She loves to sit at the table and read books and play.  She will be doing school work before I know it!

Callie had so much fun opening all of her other gifts from everyone in the family.  Thank you to everyone who gave her such wonderful gifts!

After opening presents, it was time for cake!  

At first, she did not love the feeling of cake on her hands...

but once she got a taste of the chocolate, there was no stopping!

This one is my favorite...

Even with all of that sugar, she slept great.  It was a fun birthday night!  On Saturday, we had a pool party with all of her (our) friends.  It was a gorgeous day and Callie had so much fun in the pool.  I think she was in the pool for almost 2 hours and she did not want to get out when it was time to go!

Thank you to everyone who made Callie's first birthday so great!  And thank you for all of the amazing presents.  I had to rearrange her closet to make room for all of the new things!  (How many shoes does she have by the way?!  A girl after my own heart.)

Happy Birthday Callie!

12 Month Doctor Visit

Callie went to the doctor this morning for her 1 year check up.  She weighs 20 lbs 1 oz (30th %ile), is 28 in long (25th %ile), and the circumference of her head is in the 75th %ile.  

She is good to eat any kind of food now, even peanut butter.  We need to cut out the milk at bedtime or she will get cavities.  She needs to go to the dentist within the next 6 months.  She needs to drink more water, and that will help her stomach feel better.  Dr. Lowe said it is really important to get that taken care of before we start potty training.

Developmentally, she is doing great.  We answered yes to all of the questions (does she play patty cake, does she know and respond to her name, does she hand you things when you ask, does she say 2 words/sounds, does she walk holding your hands...)

Callie had to get 2 shots (hepatitas A and pneumococcal).  She cried for about 2 minutes when the nurse gave her the shots, but then she was fine.  The nurse said these should not cause a fever or any other symptoms so that is good! 

She was of course "talking" the whole time to Dr. Lowe, and he laughed and said I don't need to worry about her speech development - "she is going to be a talker".  :)

We go back in 3 months for a follow up shot and finger prick to check her anemia.

Maryland

Summer Vacation 2 of 4

Maryland

Callie's first plane trip!  Paw Paw had to go to Johns Hopkins to see a specialist about his eyes, so Callie and I joined him and Mama D on a trip to Maryland.  We stayed at Mommom and Poppop's house and Callie got to see where I was born.  She did great on the plane, reading books and playing on the iPad.

 She was so excited when we landed and had some pretty funny faces.

After we collected ALL of our luggage, we had to wait for Paw Paw to get the car.  Just thought this was a funny picture.

We drove up to Annapolis one afternoon and Callie had her first boat ride.  I can't believe she was almost a year old before she got a on a boat!

While we were there, we got to see/meet a lot of family, spend time at Mommom and Poppop's house,

 swim in the pool, and master the stairs!

Callie absolutely loves to swing...

and I love how she always holds on.

Mommom and Poppop gave her a Noah's Ark set for her birthday, which she had so much fun playing with while we were there.

I am so glad that we got to take Callie to Maryland.  Thanks Mommom and Poppop for making our trip wonderful!

11 Months

Everyone always told me that time flies and a year will be over before you know it - I really did not understand until now.  I can't believe Callie is going to be a year old in a few weeks.  We had some time at home (which never happens!) so I decided to take a few pictures.  

The humidity was making her hair go crazy (and mine too - sorry baby).

What a pretty girl...

I bought her a wand at Target for our plane ride next week and decided to see if she liked it.  This is her "ooohh" face.  Love it!

Callie is always sticking her tongue out - since she was just a few months old!

Bear came over to entertain her and she was laughing at him...

And then she said, "I'm done" so we had to call it a day.

A few details about her schedule and eating (for me since I know I won't remember later):

8:30 Wake Up and Breakfast

10:30-12 Nap

12:30 Lunch

3-4:30/5 Nap

5:30 Dinner (I am trying to make this later so we can all eat together.)

7:30 Bath, Bottle, and Bedtime

-eats all kinds of fruits and vegetables

-yogurt or oatmeal every morning for breakfast with some fruit

-turkey and chicken have been the only meats so far

-absolutely loves Cheerios

-drinks water and juice out of a sippy cup

We just started weaning her off of formula.  I put an ounce or two of skim milk in her bottle at each meal.  Hopefully, in two or three weeks we will be done with formula!  Her bedtime bottle is down to 3 ounces.  When she is ready for milk, I will just put 3 ounces of milk in a sippy cup so we don't mess up her bedtime routine.

Fourth of July

Summer is in full swing!  Callie is tanner than half of the people here in Bluffton, thanks to all of her time outside.  On her first 4th of July, we walked in the Liberty Bell Race at Berkeley Hall with Dad, Amanda, and Callie's little friend, Brantley.  We finished just a few minutes before the award ceremony - but we did it!

Then Callie had to take a big nap after waking up super early (7:30!) for the race.  We had lunch with Dad at Berkeley Hall while he was working, and then we went to the pool at the Reed's.  Callie was all decked out in her 4th of July outfit, thanks to Auntie Em.  Here are a few pictures in her cute outfit.

Love the bow!

This face says, "Really, Mom - more pictures?" 

Rockin' in the chair!

"Let me touch the camera!"

I love her curls.

And she loves to pull her hairbow off her head.

After a long day of fun, Callie had to go to bed early - before fireworks.  We could hear (and see from the roof) three different sets of fireworks, but nothing woke up the baby!  It was a great day!

Litchfield Beach

Summer Vacation 1 of 4

Litchfield Beach with the Cokers

We traveled up to Litchfield Beach to spend the week at a condo on the beach with Bryan's parents.  We went to the pool in the morning and sometimes after a late nap...

We spent most of the afternoon at the beach.  Callie absolutely loves the water.  Whenever it was time to go in she got upset, but quickly recovered when she realized we were on to something new. 

Gotta love the hat...

Bryan and Gigi dug her a hole in sand under the umbrella and she would sit in the hole and play with the sand and her buckets for hours.

Callie enjoyed knocking down Gigi's sandcastles and had us all laughing.

She didn't like to put her knees on the sand so she walked with her hands and her feet on the sand...

We went out for a nice dinner one night, got all dressed up, and actually took a family picture!

It was a great family vacation...